1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the user interface of a facsimile machine.
2. Description of Related Art
The workplace of yesterday consisted of at least two groups of employees with different functions. One group produced content, such as that of letters, presentation material and legal material. The other group, working at individual stations such as desks and simple electronic equipment, processed the content into finished material such as letters, slides and legal documents, transmitted the material to its intended destination, duplicated it for archival purposes, etc. In the modern workplace, however, electronic devices have become increasingly more necessary and ubiquitous. Typically, computers are provided at secretarial workstations, rest on managerial desks, and are carried along by field representatives.
Typically, also, these computers are networked together to share resources such as printers and file servers. In the new generation of office equipment, devices such as facsimile machines and copiers, which were once considered stand alone machines, are now being networked as well.
More recently, peripheral devices have become available which are able to perform a number of related functions, such as copying, printing, faxing and scanning. These devices are known as multifunction peripherals (MFPs).
The Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) has provided an MFP interface standard known as the IS-650 Multifunction Peripheral Industry Interface Standard, Level 1 (MFPI-1) specification version 5.5. According to this standard, an MFP is:
Computer equipment used to scan, print, facsimile transmit, and/or copy documents. It also may have the capability to provide data modem and other voice telephony services. The MFP may be an integrated unit or may be several discrete units that are interconnected on the same communication channel to the Host or interconnected using several different channels. One or more of the subsystems may be omitted from the MFP.
A "Host" as defined in MFPI-1 is any terminal or computer capable of providing commands and data to operate a peripheral, and in practice is a computer of any size, or a group of network nodes on a given local area network. As used herein, a "host" is a generic Host, providing the quality of functionality specified in MFPI-1 without necessarily adhering to the specification. A "subsystem" according to MPFI-1 is one of several logical peripheral units, such as printer, scanner, fax-data-voice (FDV) modem, internal memory, stand-alone controller (SAC), operator console and others which may exist in the MFP or Host. The Host and the MFP communicate through a "channel."
An MFP can operate in stand-alone mode, wherein two or more subsystems are used without interaction with the Host One example of this is copying. Stand-alone operations may occur at the same time that the Host is accessing a different subsystem for a Host-controlled operation.
For a user interface (UI), the MFP includes an alphanumeric display, typically an LCD, and a user input means, such as panel buttons. The panel buttons will generally include some specialized speed dial buttons that enable a user to transmit material to one or more frequently called numbers without having to enter the individual digits. The user may read various information from the display, and may utilize the user input means for controlling the operation of the multifunction peripheral. The multifunction peripheral includes a controller, such as a microprocessor and ROM, which store user interface programs and cause the display to display status and control information. In both printing and copying, the display is typically used to show information about the status of the copy or print job. In these typical systems, all of the UI controls are stored in and controlled by the multifunction peripheral.
However, as more functions and features are included in an MFP, its user interface generally becomes more complex. Under modern office conditions, users may also access these functions from remote locations. Thus, where a user wishing to transmit a document both by fax and mail might have printed the document on bond paper, copied the printed letter in a copy machine, and run the copy together with an added pre-created cover sheet through a facsimile machine, the same user may now electronically assemble both document and cover sheet electronically and transmit both electronically via facsimile from his or her own desk. Or, in the alterative, the user may wish to perform one of more of these functions while at the facsimile machine.
Inevitably, as the number of users of such a system increase, there arises a tendency for certain types of problems, errors and inefficiencies to occur. Thus, for example, as the number of users increases so does the number of frequent facsimile recipients. Where it has been commonplace to provide a dozen or so `speed dial` buttons for frequently used numbers, that amount becomes grossly inadequate. Furthermore, maintaining those speed dial buttons as hard keys becomes a task that is both difficult and served as a source of errors.
Traditional hard key buttons are programmed conveniently at the console, but identification of the buttons is performed by inserting slips of paper under a transparent panel associated with the keys in the appropriate positions. Problems that can arise under this situation include putting the label in the wrong position, preparing labels of incorrect dimensions, and writing the label ambiguously (e.g., IRV may mean a company to one person, the name of a man to a second, and an Irvine, Calif. location to a third).
Furthermore, when a phone number associated with a given button changes, users may find it difficult to determine whether or not the number had been properly changed. Deletion of obsolete numbers may also be sufficiently bothersome that it will not be done in a timely fashion or, in fact, until there are no more free buttons. At that time the person needing to enter a new number may not be aware of which contact numbers can be safely deleted.
In addition, there are instances where the same documents will frequently be sent to a fixed group of destinations. For instance a facsimile machine located at a home office may routinely be used to send identical information to a number of branch offices.
Some facsimile machines now provide soft keys--a display of some sort (such as a touch screen) where information is displayed and a user can make a selection by touching the appropriate area of the display. These selections, however, while programmable as to content at the facsimile machine, are fixed as to appearance. Thus, for example, the soft keys are permanently labeled A-Z or 1-40. A printed list is typically associated with the facsimile machine to allow users to know what number each key represents. This list may suffer from lack of proper updating. Also, it is easy for a user viewing this list to accidentally select the wrong number for his or her transmission. Selecting the wrong number is not only expensive in terms of unnecessary telephone connect charges, but also can lead to situations that are at best embarrassing or at worst disastrous where one party is sent a document that is intended for another party entirely.
Where users can access the facsimile services from a remote workstation, the problems become exacerbated. Each user must then be provided with a copy of the list correlating recipients to soft keys and updates are required for all users whenever a soft key's content is changed. This, as can be imagined, can present severe administrative problems.
In addition, even when selections are programmable only at the facsimile machine, further problems may arise. Programming, especially by someone who is a novice at the operation, may take considerable amounts of time. The programming party, standing at the facsimile machine, will block access to the facsimile machine and, if an MFP, the other functions such as printing and copying that may be needed by others. Furthermore, the programmer will generally have needed information (such as members to be associated with a given group) located at his or her workstation, and thus will have to remember to bring all the necessary information to the facsimile machine. If information is forgotten, additional delays may result while the programmer returns to his or her workstation to retrieve the needed information.